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[Page 172]
by Dr. Malka Israeli (from the Blechman family)
Translated by Paul Bessemer
I was born in Telshe as the family's seventh child and its fifth daughter. After me there were two more brothers. I am proud to have been born in Telshe and to this family. My father, Rabbi Moshe Shlomo Blechman, was a hat merchant. In our family the Torah commandments were observed meticulously. The religious lifestyle in our house was a given with regard to everything concerned with observing the commandments and traditions. There was no other option. I remember that my father would get up every morning at four o'clock and go to the synagogue, to the scholars' house of study (shtibl hakloyz) in order to study and to pray. My mother, Feige died when I was a child of nine. My mother was a quiet and pious woman. Despite having had nine children, she would pray each day. Even indoors she never went around with [any part of] her body or her head uncovered. On the “Sabbaths of Blessing”[1] she would recite with us, her daughters, the blessings for the new month; and every Sabbath she would have us read from the “Tseno Ureno,”[2] the “Menorat HaMaor,”[3] the “Mesilat-Yesharim,”[4] and from the stories and fables of the Torah Sages, may their memories be blessed.[5]
Father was a handsome man who sported a beard that resembled that of Herzl, and he would always walk with an erect posture. They told me that when father came to the village of Loikeve[6] as a bridegroom in order to see my late mother (my mother was a native of Loikeve), all were amazed by his good looks. They also told me that after his marriage they offered my father a good, high-earning job in the Caucasus, in Russia, but my father didn't consent because he wanted to live in Telshe so that the children would receive a good Jewish education. I know that my father would fast for days and pray that his children would walk in the path of righteousness, that they would learn Torah, and that they would be God-fearing. He was known as a righteous man, fair, and with pleasant features, and he was even known to engage in many acts of kindness and mercy. I never heard emanate from his mouth a word of gossip, slander, disparagement, or denunciation of another. He lived peacefully with everyone. When there was a celebration at home he would invite all the people of Telshe, without exception, and would concern himself not to overlook anyone. There was a yeshiva student who was close to our household who would essen teg – eat meals at our place (on ordinary days), on Sabbaths, and on holidays.[7] At Purim and Hoshanna-Rabba[8] my father would go to the yeshiva to call the young man to come, lest
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the young man might think that these were not holidays [for him] and would remain [in the yeshiva] -- God forbid – hungry for bread. The days upon which the young man would come to our home to feast at our table we all would enjoy the wonderful foods and evenings prepared for his sake. Father took upon himself the task of going to the houses and collecting yizkor-gelt.[9] This was holy work for him. He would leave the shop in the morning and return in the evening with quite a haul. We children would help him to count the money.
Father worked very hard to support the members of the family. He had two shops for selling hats – and who in Telshe didn't buy a hat from us?!
A great hardship befell my father when the wife of his youth, my mother (may her memory be blessed), died prematurely, at the age of forty-two, and left nine mother-less children at a time when the youngest, Benjamin, was only one year old and still nursing at his mother's breast. She died from typhus in the year 1918, at a time when the plague of typhus was raging across Europe. The Jews organized special hospitals for themselves, and Berl Broide, the owner of a confectionary, volunteered to take on the burden of sustaining the hospital. Berl Broide, the aforementioned, was later blessed to see his son Uri become the Chief Rabbi of [the Israeli town of] Givatayim for many years and his grandson, may he be blessed with a long and good life, would serve as the rabbi of Hadar Yosef, Tel Aviv. We children, would peek through the holes in the gate in order to see our mother in the hospital.
I remember that on the holiday of Shavuot, when my mother was still alive, they brought her and my sister to the hospital by wagon, with both of them lying down together. My eldest brother, Chaim-Berl, remained at home withering away from the disease. Father kept on with his [daily] life despite a fever of 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) because it was not possible for him to lie down. Father went to the hospital with my eldest brother, Chaim-Berl, who arose from his sick-bed before he had recovered, in order to visit the patients from our family and the two of them returned in order to take care of the little children who were at home. The government imposed a quarantine on our house and placed notices that it was prohibited to enter it; and indeed, no one entered and we were isolated. This was during the First World War and there wasn't any food to be found. I remember that every day a woman whose name I have forgotten brought us a large pot with cooked food: soup with the meat from a sheep's head. I can still see today the steam rising from the hot pot. That was a righteous woman who seriously risked her own life to bring us food and serve us.
As my mother lay unconscious and was approaching death's door my father brought every one of the children into the room for two minutes so that we could see her before she died. It is difficult to describe the suffering and sorrow that were our lot with the death of our mother, may her memory be blessed.
Father remained with nine children and his situation was difficult, especially from an economic standpoint. He didn't remarry, despite the fact that he was still in his prime, handsome, and much in demand. He didn't want to bring a strange woman into the house for his children. My sister Sarah-Eitel (Kimchi) and my sister Chaya (Maizel) took it upon themselves to manage the house and business.
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They were young, 15 – 16 years old, and their responsibility was heavy indeed. Father would bake the bread and challahs himself and would worry about getting us clothed, as well as continuing to work in order to support us. Father put the boys in “yeshivas;” when they grew up he didn't want them to cease their studies for the sake of working in a hat store. He sent my brother Gershon he sent to study in the Ponevezh Yeshiva, and my brother Benjamin he sent to the Slabodka Yeshiva.[10] My eldest brother, Chaim-Berl, who could not receive treatment
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after contracting typhus, caught tuberculosis and passed away six months after my mother's death. Indeed, it fell heavily upon my father to see his first-born son fade away before his eyes while being unable to do anything to save him. Father was a man of strong constitution, and when he saw Chaim-Beryl dying and crying out: “Father! Call someone. I feel ill…,” he lay him on his bed, closed his eyes, and recited the Shema Israel prayer with him.[11]
My father suffered greatly when my brother Eliezar ceased his studies at the yeshiva and traveled to Kovna[12] to study at the Religious Teachers' College. Father didn't want to speak to him, but afterward he reconciled with him. Eliezar worked as a teacher at the religious school “Yavneh” in the city of Zager,[13] and was later appointed principal of the “Yavneh” school in Telshe; and after that he moved to Ponevezh[14] and was principal of the “Yavneh” school there, which was known as “Dem Rabbis Cheder” (meaning: the school of Rabbi Kahaneman in Ponevezh, the greatest in both size and quality).
And as for the daughters, Father put them in educational institutions. Sarah (Kimchi) finished the “Yavneh” Teachers' College in Telshe, whose principal was Dr. Holzberg. I remember that it was difficult for my sister, Sarah-Eitel, to finish her studies because she was so preoccupied both at home and with the business. Dr. Holzberg[15] called us – [Sarah's] sisters – and ordered us to take upon ourselves the burden of [running] the house; and this is what he said: “You, Malka, clean and scrub the floors; you, ‘Edah, are in charge of clothes [laundry]’; and you, Hannah, are entrusted with the cooking.” This made it possible for Sarah-Eitel to finish her studies. Hannah traveled to Riga to study at the horticultural college – she finished the course and became a horticulture expert in Telshe. Edah traveled to Mariampol[16] to study at the Lithuanian Teachers' College, finished her studies with distinction, and was an outstanding teacher in Ponevezh. At a very young age my sister Chaya married a virtuous young man who was a prodigy, Rabbi Ya'akov-David Maizel. I, Malka, traveled to Germany to study at the university after I finished the “Yavneh” gymnasium and the teachers' training college. I studied at Breslau for a year and afterward moved in order to continue my studies in Berlin for three more years. Finally, I moved to Wirtzburg[17] for one year, and in the year 1933 I received my Doctorate in Philosophy. The desire to learn among both the sons and daughters in our family was so strong to the point that we overcame the burdens of lack of food and appropriate clothing, and each one of us would reach our academic goals. From Germany I traveled directly to the Land of Israel to become the principal of the “Beit Ya'akov” girls school in Tiberias. I was awarded this work from the headquarters of the “Agudat Israel” in the city of Frankfurt am Main, through the warm recommendation of Rabbi Dr. Moshe Auerbach, and also received travel money and a handsome monthly salary. I was very sorry that I wasn't able to travel to Telshe and to take my leave from my father, my brother, and my sisters, but I didn't have the money necessary for that purpose.
I remember well that when I left the city of Frankfurt and set out on my journey to the Land of Israel I cried bitter tears, because I felt that I was separating from my family forever and would never see them again. When my ship left Trieste I [again] cried bitterly since I knew that I was breaking my connection with my dear family. I will never forget the last Passover at home, in the year 1929, when I sat around the table with all of them. I knew that after the holiday I would be traveling to Germany to study and the departure hurt me greatly. I sat next to the table at home with the members of my family, along with Chaya, Sarah-Eitel, and Eliezar and their wives, husbands, and children. Tears poured down my face and my sister Chaya saw this and came to me and said: “Malka, feast your eyes – what a beautiful spread, the settings, the songs from the Haggadah, and this wonderful, festive atmosphere!” …And indeed, this would be the last Passover at home.
I have never forgotten you, my dears, and never will – We are bound together as one!
Additional Details About the Members of My Family [related] According to Their Ages
We lived on Turgaus Gatvė [Market Street] in a two-and-a-half-room house. In the main room were the shelves with the Torah sages of Vilna in large format and in many volumes. In addition to this there was another large book cabinet, stuffed with other sacred works. Each of the children in our house studied and none of them complained that it was crowded there. Father didn't have the ability to buy books of study for each one of us during the war years. I had to wait until my girlfriend would finish her lessons and only then could I ask to use [hers] and sit until three in the morning to study by the light of a kerosene lamp. When we were doing better financially, father brought us
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books from Kovna: Atlases and dictionaries, geographic maps, and the like… There were always maps of Lithuania and the Land of Israel hung on the wall. Inasmuch as all of us studied, there were always many girlfriends from class at our place, and the house was full of learning. When the principal, Dr. Holzberg, would want to announce the course schedule or changes thereto, he would come to our house and inform us, and from our house the information would spread to all the female students in the town.
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The firstborn, Chaim-Dov, was a yeshiva student and was considered the most virtuous student at the yeshiva. He passed away at age 19 from tuberculosis that he caught because of a lack of health-care resources following the typhus outbreak. I remember his funeral. At the yeshiva all the lamps were burning and various rabbis eulogized him with heart-rending eulogies until very late in the evening, so late indeed that they were unable to carry out the burial that evening, and therefore did the next morning instead. I was just a small child then, but the impression [of the event] remains with me to this day. He was buried together with his Talmud study bookstand.
My brother Eliezar studied at the yeshiva until 18 years of age and then decided to become a teacher, so he traveled on his own to Kovna, to the “Yavneh” teachers' seminary. When he was preparing for the entrance examinations he would hide the course books under his clothes, because father was against his leaving the yeshiva. After he completed his seminary studies he worked for one year as a teacher in the town of Zager and after that was appointed as principal of a school in Telshe. After a number of years he moved to Ponevezh upon his appointment as principal of a large school by the name of “Yavneh.” The classrooms were crammed full [of students] with no room to spare. My brother had a very warm relationship with Rabbi Kahaneman, who esteemed him greatly. In Ponevezh he built his house, took a wife, and had three children to his glory. He would care for the poor children, and when he received his salary he would give half of it to the needy, so that he would return home with only half of his salary. People would always see him holding children's shoes, which he would distribute to needy children. His whole family perished in the Holocaust together with the [other] Jews of Ponevezh.
My sister Sarah-Eitel finished the “Yavneh” teachers' seminary in Telshe and then became an exemplary and well-known teacher in Telshe. She married an outstanding yeshiva student, Rabbi David Kimchi. They had six boys. Her husband David studied at the “Kollel” and she supported the family. She was well-versed in Torah and its commentators and was outstanding at teaching. Her entire family perished in the Holocaust.
My sister Chaya only studied at the teachers' seminary for a short while. She ceased her studies because she married the man of her choice, Rabbi Ya'akov David Maizel, a prodigy at the yeshiva. My sister's marriage and their wedding made a deep impression on the entire city. He would give a regular lesson on the Mishnah B'rurah[18] at the yeshiva. Rabbi Ya'akov-David was a man of outstanding character and was known as the “Chofetz-Chaim of Telshe.” They offered him a number of important rabbinical positions, but he didn't want “to turn the Torah into his livelihood.”[19] With great hardship and struggle he supported himself
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through a grocery store that also contained a section where sacred works were sold. He and his wife – my sister Chaya – supported their eight children only with great difficulty and struggle. My father was obliged to support them by purchasing clothes and shoes for them.
It was my brother-in-law, Rabbi Ya'akov-David, who was [given the honor of] reciting the last “maftir”[20] at the yeshiva.
My sister Hannah studied horticulture at the religious seminary in the city of Riga. She married an outstanding yeshiva student, Rabbi Yehuda Bloch from Slobodka. They had two sons. She was an outstanding horticulturist in Telshe and headed the “Batya” organization.[21]
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My sister Edah, may the Lord grant a long and good life,[22] finished the first year at the “Yavneh” gymnasium in Telshe. After that she traveled to Mariampol to study at the Lithuanian teachers' seminary because there did not yet exist a religious Jewish seminary [in Telshe]. She completed [her studies] successfully. In her first year of working as a teacher she taught in the town of Rakishok,[23] then moved to teach at the “Yavneh” school in Ponevezh, and finally immigrated to the Land of Israel in 1934.
Here she taught at the “Chorev” school in Jerusalem. Afterward, she moved to Tel Aviv [where] she worked in teaching at the “Shlomo HaMelekh” and “Dizengof” schools, and was later appointed as vice-principal at the “Shorashim” school.
I, Malka, finished the “Yavneh” gymnasium and the pedagogical institute in Telshe and was sent to study in Breslau with the support of the Breslau community and through the efforts of the rabbi, Dr. Eliezar Bloch. After one year I continued my studies for three years at the University of Berlin and finished my doctorate after an additional year of studies in the city of Würzburg. I was very hard-working and received stipends by virtue of the reports of my industriousness; of course, I also supported myself with private lessons, because tuition was expensive and the cost-of-living was high. I worked very hard and lived by greatly reducing my expenses for food so as to devote myself fully to my studies and to their completion. After I finished my studies the “Agudat Israel” headquarters in the city of Frankfurt [am Main] sent me to direct the “Beit Ya'akov” school in Tiberias. Here I would like to mention with gratitude and esteem Rabbi Dr. Moshe Auerbach, zt”l,[24] who recommended my acceptance to the aforementioned position. I immigrated to the Land [of Israel] in the summer of 1933 with a work contract from the Frankfurt headquarters of “Agudat Israel” and was thereby saved from the horrors of the Holocaust.
From Tiberias I was transferred to be principal at the “Beit-Ya'akov” school in Tel Aviv and after another year I was given the principal's position at the “Mizrahi” and “Shlomo HaMelekh” schools that I founded and that I continued to direct for 38 years until I retired.
My brother Gershon was a yeshiva student throughout his life. He would help
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father at the store, but father wanted him to devote himself fully to [his] yeshiva studies, and not to waste his time at the store, so he sent him to study at the Ponevezh Yeshiva. He perished there in the Holocaust with the other inhabitants of the city. May his soul be bound in the bond of everlasting life.
My brother Benjamin, a yeshiva student in Telshe, was sent by my father to study at the Slobodka Yeshiva so that he too would not waste his time at our store. The Lithuanians and the Germans sent him to the Dachau camp and he perished there. May his soul be bound in the bond of everlasting life.
Father, the brothers, the sisters, and their children: 35 dear souls, not counting uncles and aunts and their children – all were brutally killed by the Nazis and their helpers. May God avenge their blood.[25]
Even though I am now more than 50 years away from [my life in] Telshe, I still fully feel myself to be a child of Telshe in every sense of the word. My heart aches at the ruin of Telshe, my city. I weep bitter tears at the fate of my dear city. All of those from Telshe are dear to me and as beloved as brothers and sisters. I wish them all the best.
Telshe, with its yeshiva, with its synagogues and study rooms, its rabbis, its Torah students, and the educational institutions within it (the seminary for male and female teachers, the “Yavneh” gymnazia), as well as all the Jewish men and women – majesty, and the spirit of Torah and piety all emanate from you! The love of [God's] Creation, the righteousness and truth are a lamp unto your feet! You are very precious to me, brothers and sisters! May your memory be blessed for all eternity!
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Footnotes:
Yosl Ba'al Shem
(the Miracle Worker)[1]
by Chasia Gring-Goldberg
Translated by Hanna Grinberg
Shimon, the father of Yosl, was a God-fearing man who observed the religious commandments, but his son [Yosl] did not follow in his father's footsteps. He was infected with the virus of that time - Zionism, which had taken hold in the Jewish street.[2] Yosl was one of the first Zionists in Telshe, really an “ardent Zionist,” who was also active in distributing shekels and was one of the founders of the Socialist Zionist organization.[3] When the “Hachshara” movement[4] began, he was one of the movement's supporters and together with Sheinele Rabinovitz, Aaron Gringer, and Aivin helped the young pioneers to find work, and even employed several pioneers[5] in his store. All he wanted was to emigrate to the Land of Israel, and to that end he bought an orange grove in the vicinity of Zichron-Ya'akov.
He had a store of building supplies and weapons. He was an expert in locks and many would ask his help when a key was lost or there was some other problem with locks. He was always in a good mood and liked jokes. I will tell here about one of the jokes:
In our city of Telshe lived a carpenter named Hirsha Kopel. He was a simple man, who loved to sit in the evenings in the “Shneidershe-Kloiz” (the synagogue for tailors) and listen to lessons on chapters of the Mishnah.[6] One time this Hirsha came to Yosl's store and complained that the lock in the door of his house does not work. As a joke, Yosl said: “Bring this door to me.” To his surprise, sometime later he saw Hirsha standing in front of his store, huffing and puffing, with the door on his shoulders. “I have brought it,” he said.
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Translator's footnotes:
[Page 179]
by A.Z. Hirshovitz
Translated by Paul Bessemer
Is it likely that a book will be written and published about the glorious [town of] Telshe and that her noble and unforgettable character of Rabbi Lieber shall find a place in it?
The quill cannot begin to describe the greatness of Reb Lieber's personality, but it is my duty as a female member [of his family] to outline, albeit briefly, some of the qualities of his character and his manner of behavior so as to pass them on to future generations.
The Rav, Yehuda Lieber, was born in Telshe on 15 Elul 5661 ([August 30,] 1901) to his parents HY”D,[2] his father, the great ga'on,[3] the Rav Yitzchak Aizik Eliezer Hirshovitz, and his righteous mother – Hannah-Rachel Kulah, of the house of the ga'on Rabbi Eliezer Gordon, who is known by the name “Rabbi Eliezer Telsher,” who founded the Telshe Yeshiva and served as its head until the end of his days.
Rabbi Lieber was raised in this house of Torah and fear of Heaven, [and] of wisdom and loving-kindness, and grew into a mighty “tree.” From his many-branched family only he remained, “a branch rescued from the flames,” having immigrated to the Land of Israel in the year [5]686 [approx. 1926] to study at the Hebron Yeshiva, in the City of the Patriarchs. Only his uncle, the Ga'on Rabbi Zalman Sorotzkin, and his aunt, the Rebbetzin[4] (sister of the Rebbetzin Hannah-Rachel Kulah), and their children, as well as two aunts from the house of [Rabbi Eliezer] Gordon, and a number of nephews and nieces of the Gordon families - Gordon, Bloch, and Sorotzkin, who survived the great conflagration in Europe - reached the Land of Israel.
It was Rabbi Lieber's life mission to bequeath to future generations the inheritance of their forefathers and to instill in them the knowledge of their hewn stone (tzur machatzvatam): Just as he had not seen in the regard of his fathers an inheritance on which [he] alone was to focus, but instead [as] a sacred duty [for him to undertake so that he would] be worthy of their heritage and their name, and even [an obligation] to raise his children in this path all of his days.
In our family two great and respected [family] trees are interwoven: From the illustrious “Telshe” side and from the greatly-praised “Volozhin”[5] side, the roots of both of them reaching back to Rashi and King David A”H.[6] He [Rabbi Lieber] researched our family history and began by drawing the family tree to show their relationship [to one another]. It is to my great sadness that he never managed to extend its lists and the shoots branching upward (he only brought a little of the two notebooks that he published, one “Know Who You Are,” about his father and grandfather, and the other, “Eternal Memory,”
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about the forefathers of the Ga'on and Av Beis Din,[7] Rabbi Yosef-David Shachor,[8] of Antopol and Siemiatycze, and, on my mother['s side], the Rebbetzin Lipshe and their family). It is by the Mercy of HaShem that most of the books of my father, [who was] the Rabbi of Virbalin,[9] were published and in a second printing. His books are full of lofty sentiment and sublime ideas. Rabbi Lieber took care to ensure that some of them would be translated into Hebrew and some of the books were indeed published [in that language]: Meitev Hegayon [The Best Logic], Kerem Beit-Israel [The Vineyard of the House of Israel], and Am'Olam [Eternal Nation].
His love of learning Torah was never satiated. By nature he was very diligent, and at any time and hour his eyes were deep in an open book, and everything interested him.
For more than thirty years he continued to give a lesson on the “daily page” [of the Talmud] at the Chashmona'im synagogue in Tel Aviv, and when he left Tel Aviv he made sure [to find a] replacement, so that the lesson wouldn't be cancelled-G-d forbid!-and Rabbi Moshe Breuer (may he live a good, long life) continued it.
Also when we moved to B'nei Brak he frequently gave a lesson in the “Itzkovitz” synagogue and gave sermons to those attending at the Erlauer Chassidic Beit Midrash ] near our home.
He was the most diverse of characters, with noble and intelligent features that usually captured the hearts of everyone [who met him]. He was content with little, and happy with his lot. In every situation in which he found himself he was calm and full of joie de vivre. He loved all of his fellow creatures and brought them nearer to the Torah,[10] as well as performing many acts of mercy and lovingkindness, and his house was open to all, and the many and the good continued to cross his threshold.
By nature he had a good and wise heart, and he extended his assistance and counsel with wisdom and charm to all in need.
Rabbi Lieber worked for many years as assistant director in the Assessor's Office in the municipality of Tel Aviv. Thanks to his radiant personality, his great influence, and his respectful and sincere approach to the members of the city council, he was able to assist many persons, encouraged them, and helped them to move forward. He never shied away from such problems; on the contrary, he afforded his support and assistance to others to help his fellow man with his burden.
He passed away on 1 Elul [5]740 [August 13, 1980], crowned in his good name[11] and good deeds, and he rests in the Har HaMenuchos [The Mount of Those Who Are Resting] Cemetery[12] in Jerusalem.
Our loss is great and we shall not forget! May his memory be blessed!
Footnotes:
[Ed.] - Translator editor's footnote [Or.] - Original footnote
[Page 181]
by Levi Shalit[2]
Translated by Paul Bessemer
When Jews from “that world” who haven't seen each other for many long years meet up it is not to be expected that a calm, orderly conversation will ensue between them. For instance, among these types the words will fly around, jumping, hopping, bouncing back and forth as if they were pursuing phantoms or ghosts. “You're here?” … “Did you forget?” … “[Across] what border?” … “He lives!”… “How did you survive?”… “But that was already later on” … “with the Soviets” … “with the Germans” … “[like] an evening in the ghetto” … “In the camp” … Persons and events that were [thought to have been] erased from memory now dance before one's eyes, demanding to find expression. A “carousel” of memories. Memories of [other] territories and times all roll past, one after the next. If there are any among those conversing who still have memories, one detail follows another, a third is then mentioned, and the “topic” then runs and returns. Like a wagon with wobbly wheels – descending the mountain.
During those days I would “restrain myself:” “Say, how old are you that you've got so many “events” stored up in your memory?” – Go, tell yourself that what one from among our people saw one day Ezekiel didn't already see in the river.[3] I am sitting here with a guest and we are conversing. The guest's name is Ya'akov Rabinovich. He comes from Canada. So to speak.
The truth of the matter is that he comes from “that world.” He is originally from Telshe. He came out of the burning ghetto of Kovno.[4] He emerged from hiding in the “bunker-of-the-grave.” He came by crossing borders: Poland, Romania, Austria, Italy. He comes from our murdered Jewish world.
Our conversation jumps around, like a bird with a damaged wing, from memory to memory, until my memory lands upon the very first acquaintance with the guest's family.
The students of the Telshe Yeshiva had only the slightest of connections with the householders in the town [of Telshe]. Even when a “householder” was himself a diligent scholar, it was nevertheless more proper that a yeshiva student not have close contact or relations with him. Even when the “householder” like this, a diligent scholar, was nevertheless not sunk into his studies all week long, and would occupy himself with the daily affairs of buying and selling with the men and women of the town and immersed in concerns over income and well-being. And in such a case, what sort of friend could that be for a yeshiva student? It was better [for all] if they simply remained at arm's length from one another. That's how it was for the students of the Telshe Yeshiva. They saw themselves as the shining aristocracy who needed to remain detached from the “teeming masses.” But the Rabinovich household was treated differently. This house, in the heart of the town, was very familiar to the yeshiva students. They would look upon the family with respect and decency, as they would look up to superiors. As for the Rabinoviches, they were cut from a higher quality cloth, and their children were highly refined.
When I arrived in Telshe, the old rabbi Yosef Leib [Bloch, 1860-1929] had already passed away, but his teaching, his lessons, his “conversations,” his interpretations and sermons, and even his melodies–even the stones of the wall would cry out![5] His three sons then led the yeshiva
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and the town, [and] his three sons, along with their spouses, constituted a “court” of [religious] nobility.[6] Everyone together bore his memory as a waving banner, a banner of correctness in battle and confidence in victory.
Like the reeds around the lake that was at the edge of the town [Lake Mastis] and that purifies its waters, so did my soul thirstily drink, feeling the deeds and tales of the old rabbi. And among them [there was] one, according to the book, that the city was not able to forget. Those who sing niggunim (wordless, spiritual melodies) even remembered the very eulogy that, along with his words, still brings tears to the eyes today, after so many years.
For whom did the old rabbi grieve the most with bitter tears? For the one who was called Rabbi Avraham-Eliyahu [Kaplan],[7] who lived in Berlin and was a righteous ga'on.[8]
The address of Rabbi Avraham-Eliyahu aroused amazement and said that he was a “preacher.” When a Jew who had earned the honor that the Rabbi of Telshe would eulogize him so – [one had to wonder] what had he done in Berlin of all places? They say that Rabbi Avraham-Eliyahu headed the Hildesheimer rabbinical seminary. In fact, the matter was completely different. How could a Jew, a student of the great and wise, go from the very source of life…to Berlin! And to a seminary, whose very name is utterly genteel, in order to teach the promising young “Rabbiners.” In any case, the Rabbi of Telshe eulogized him with a eulogy that stuck in the memories of the town's inhabitants for many a long year!
I would also like to look respectfully at the Rabinoviches, of whom Rabbi Avraham-Eliyahu was…a brother.
Isaac Rabinovich was one of the elders of the yeshiva, among those who had already been given the title of “rabbi.”
Rabbi Isaac's place was next to the Kotel HaMizrach (eastern wall of the synagogue) – it was his habit to be very conscientious of the way he dressed. His clothes always shone, sparkling clean and neat, like on a holiday. He walked with quiet, measured steps and a refined gait. Over the full and blameless life of Rabbi Isaac, like those calm eyes behind his light-reflecting glasses, there always emanated the sense of the restful calm of the Sabbath.
This was the behavior of Rabbi Isaac – the first lessons in aesthetics. Even if I only got to know him many years later.
There was joy in the yeshiva. Young men, old men gave drashot (short exegetical talks). One learned “to stand in front of a congregation.” These were to be rabbis, and at that time a rabbi was known to be a preacher. I listened in on [Rabbi] Isaac's “test sermon” before his “group.” He interprets what is written “Zion shall be redeemed through judgment [and her captives through charity].”[9] He wishes to prove that Zionism is contrary to the prophecy on salvation. At the same time his lips utter the word “Zion” with deep longing; the “thorough judgment” rings forth from his mouth with mercy; and they “shall be redeemed” as a cry of longing for salvation, that aspires to something more than merely being released from exile.
In contrast to Rabbi Isaac's interpretation, his three-note niggun (melody) brought me to Zionism. And the intention within that niggun still accompanies my being a Zionist to this day.
Four brothers they were. Three of them I knew. I have talked about two of them here. My conversation with the fourth–the youngest–is what awoke these recollections.
I should have told about him, but that's how it is among the Jews from “that world.” One memory quickly rolls over into the next.
When we have the energy, we will tell about him as well – the son of Friedl, the brother of Rabbi Isaac, hy'd,[10] the head rabbi (who was the son-in-law of the rabbi of Shavl [Lithuanian: Šiauliai], Rabbi Aharon Bakst, hy'd) and of Rabbi Abraham Elijah, zt'l[11] – may he have a long life.
Footnotes:
[Ed.] - Translator editor's footnote [Tr.] - Translator's footnote [Or.] - Original footnote
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